Tarantino Finds Groove, Takes Second In 3-meter

Jevon Tarantino knew it was only a matter of time before his competitive fires started to burn again.

After falling three places shy of making the U.S. Olympic diving team at last month's trials in St. Peters, Mo., Tarantino nearly packed it up for the summer.

But after talking with his coach, Dave Burgering of the Coral Springs Diving Team, Tarantino decided to return and compete at this weekend's USA Diving Zone B Championships.

Already qualified for the July 20-25 senior nationals at Mission Viejo, Calif., the Olympic Heights graduate finished second on the 3-meter springboard with 534.60 points for 11 dives on opening day Friday at the Fort Lauderdale Aquatic Complex.

"I took a couple weeks off after the trials. I just wanted to rest my mind, it was such hard training," Tarantino said. "I got in yesterday and had my first workout [since trials] and was really rusty.

"At first I was going to take the summer off and have fun with friends, but then I thought if I go out to Mission Viejo and dive real well ... that's more fun than anything. Today was definitely the motivation I needed to get me back in the swing of things and start training again."

Tarantino, who will attend Tennessee this fall, finished fifth on the 3-meter at the trials. He had a shaky preliminary round and never recovered. He was the only diver from South Florida in the 12-man final.

"It would have been a waste for him not to continue his diving this summer," Burgering said. "He has a shot at a national title, a spot on the U.S. national team and chance to make a name for himself."

Chris Colwill, 20, of the Georgia Diving Club won the 3-meter springboard title with 545.15. Evan Linette of Fort Lauderdale Diving was fourth against a predominantly college field. He will be a senior at Fort Lauderdale in the fall.

Nicole Bolt of Team Orlando won the women's 1-meter springboard title and qualified for senior nationals. Bolt, 21, a senior at the University of Florida, topped an impressive field to win with 476.65 points for a 10-dive list.

Kara Cook of Coral Springs Diving hit her hand on a reverse 1 dive and withdrew after the fourth round.